My Master, open my lips, and my mouth will declare Your praise.

THE VIRTUE OF OUR FOREFATHERS

Blessed are You, Adonoy, our God, and God of our fathers, God of Avraham, God of Yitzchak, and God of Yaakov, the Almighty, the Great, the Powerful, the Awesome, most high Almighty, Who bestows beneficent kindness, Who possesses everything, Who remembers the piety of the Patriarchs, and Who brings a redeemer to their children’s children, for the sake of His Name, with love. Remember us for life King, Who desires life; and inscribe us in the Book of Life, for Your sake, Living God. King, Helper, and Deliverer and Shield. Blessed are You, Adonoy, Shield of Avraham.

DIVINE MIGHT

You are mighty forever, my Master; You are the Resurrector of the dead the Powerful One to deliver us. Sustainer of the living with kindliness, Resurrector of the dead with great mercy, Supporter of the fallen, and Healer of the sick, and Releaser of the imprisoned, and Fulfiller of His faithfulness to those who sleep in the dust. Who is like You, Master of mighty deeds, and who can be compared to You? King Who causes death and restores life, and causes deliverance to sprout forth. Who is like You merciful Father, Who remembers His creatures for life, in His mercy. And You are faithful to restore the dead to life. Blessed are You, Adonoy, Resurrector of the dead.

And thus all acknowledge You their Sovereign, to the Almighty Who apportions judgment; Who examines hearts on the day of judgment; Who reveals depths [of the heart] in judgment; Who speaks uprightly on the day of judgment; Who utters knowledge in judgment; to Him Who is steadfast, and yet deals kindly on the day of judgment; Who recalls His covenant in judgment; Who has pity on His works on the day of judgment; Who purifies those who trust in Him, in judgment; Who knows the thoughts of man on the day of judgment; Who suppresses His anger in judgment; Who is clothed in righteousness on the day of judgment; Who forgives iniquities in judgment; Who is awesome in praise on the day of judgment; Who pardons those borne by Him, in judgment; Who answers those who call upon Him on the day of judgment; Who exercises His compassion in judgment; Who scrutinizes secrets on the day of judgment; Who acquires His servants, in judgment; Who has compassion on His people on the day of judgment; Who preserves those who love Him, in judgment; Who supports His perfect ones on the day of judgment.

And thus unto You may [our] sanctification ascend, for You our God are King!

Let us describe the great holiness of this day, for it is awesome and frightening. On this day, Your Kingship is uplifted,¹ and Your throne is established with kindness,² and You sit upon it in truth.³ True that You are judge, admonisher, knower and witness; and You inscribe, seal, record and count, and recall all forgotten things.⁴ You open the book of records and it reads of itself; and the signature of every man is in it. A great shofar is sounded, and a silent, gentle voice is heard; and the angels are alarmed, pangs of fear and trembling sieze them,⁵ and they declare, “behold the Day of Judgment.” The heavenly host is arraigned in judgment, for they are not guiltless in Your eyes in judgment.⁶ All mankind pass before You like young sheep.⁷ As a shepherd inspects his flock, making his sheep pass under his rod, so do You cause to pass, count, number, and review the soul of every living being, determining the life-span of every creature;

footnotes: ¹ His Kingship is uplifted through our saying of “מַלְכֻיּו‍ֹת—זִכְרו‍ֹנו‍ֹת—שׁו‍ֹפָרו‍ֹת” and the sounding of the shofar. ² Hashem rules with kindness. ³ See Yeshaya 16:5. Truth in this sense might refer to Hashem’s permanence (Metsudas Dovid) or to Hashem’s love of truth (Malbim). ⁴ Forgotten things refer only to things we may have forgotten, for there is no forgetfulness before Hashem. ⁵ See Job 4:18, “הֵן בַּעֲבָדָיו לֹא יַאֲמִין וּבְמַלְאָכָיו יָשִׂים תָּהָלָה” Behold! He puts no trust in His servants, and His angels, He charges with foolishness.” ⁶ See Job 15:16, “הֵן בִּקְדו‍ֹשָׁיו לֹא יַאֲמִין וְשָׁמַיִם לֹא זַכוּ בְעֵינָיו” Behold! “He puts no trust in His holy ones, and even those in the heavens [angels] are not guiltless in His eyes.” ⁷ See Mishnah, Maseches Rosh Hashana 1:2. “All mankind passes before Hashem to be judged individually, like young sheep who pass through a small opening in the corral as they are counted for tithing. Bartenura

and You record the decree of their judgment.

On Rosh Hashana their decree is inscribed, and on Yom Kippur it is sealed,⁸ how many will pass away and how many will be created, who will live and who will die; who will come to his timely end, and who to an untimely end; who will perish by fire and who by water; who by the sword and who by beast; who by hunger and who by thirst; who by earthquake and who by the plague; who by strangling and who by stoning; who will be at rest and who will wander about; who will have serenity and who will be confused; who will be tranquil and who will be tormented; who will become poor and who will become wealthy; who will be brought to a low state and who will be uplifted.

footnotes: ⁸ This formula of judgment is only for those who are considered בֵּינו‍ֹנִים, neither righteous nor wicked. The truly righteous are inscribed and sealed for life on Rosh Hashana, and the wicked also receive their full verdict on Rosh Hashana. Thus it is only the בֵּינו‍ֹנִי, one in between, who is given time until Yom Kippur to mend his ways and be judged for life. Talmud Yerushalmi, Maseches Rosh Hashana 1:3.

But repentance, and prayer and charity annul the evil decree.⁹

footnotes: ⁹ This is based on Midrash Rabbah, Bereishis 44:13.

For as Your Name, so is Your praise,¹⁰ You are slow to anger and easy to pacify;¹¹ For You do not desire death [for the sinner] but that he turn from his evil way and live.¹² And even until his dying day, You wait for him— if he repents, You immediately accept him.

footnotes: ¹⁰ See Tehillim 48:11. This refers to His Name, described in the thirteen attributes of Hashem. ¹¹ See Maseches Avos 5:1. ¹² See Yechezkel 18:32, 18:23.

True, You are their Creator, and You know their impulse that they are [but] flesh and blood. Man, his beginning is from dust and ends in dust; risking his life, he gets his bread, he is like a potsherd that is breakable, like grass that withers, like the flower that fades, like the shadow that passes, like the cloud that vanishes, like the wind that blows, like the dust that flies, and like a fleeting dream.

But You are the King, the Almighty, the living and everlasting God.

There is no end to Your years and there is no limit to the length of Your days. Immeasurable are the chariots of angels who glorify You, and there is no way to describe Your imperceptable Name. Your Name is fitting for You, and You are worthy of Your Name; and our name, You have called by Your Name.¹³ Act for the sake of Your Name, and sanctify Your Name through those who hallow Your Name.¹⁴ For the sake of Your glorious Name, which is reverenced and sanctified, with the mystic speech of the holy serafim who sanctify Your Name in the Sanctuary. Those who dwell on high [the angels] unite with those who dwell on earth, to proclaim the three-fold sanctification; in [Your] Sanctuary

footnotes: ¹³ The name יִשְׂרָאֵל, the name by which we are called contains the Name of Hashem, יִשְׂרָ־אֵל. ¹⁴ This refers to the Jewish people who recite the kedusha, sanctification, twice each day.

as it is written by the hand of Your prophet, “And they called one to another and said: